Basic Information:

Population: The population of South Africa is 55,189,922.

GDP: $704.5 billion (2016)

Climate: South Africa has amazing weather. December is mid-summer while June is mid-winter; opposite to the European and Western continents.

People: Blacks are the native in South Africa.  South Africa also has many different ethnic groups with about nine officially-recognized local languages. The Zulu and Xhosa speakers are the two largest groups – accounting for nearly 40% of the population – with Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Swati/Swazi, Venda and Ndebele speakers making up the rest. There is also a large Indian population living in South Africa.

Religion: Christianity is most common among white and colored South Africans. A small percent, 1.5% are Muslims, and 1.2% are Hindus. Less than 1% of the population are Jews.

Capital: South Africa has three capital cities, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town. Cape Town is the legislative capital, Pretoria is the administrative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital of South Africa. Language: IsiZulu is the mother tongue of 22.7% of South Africa’s population, followed by isiXhosa at 16%, Afrikaans at 13.5%, English at 9.6%, Setswana at 8% and Sesotho at 7.6%. The remaining official languages are spoken at home by less than 5% of the population each.

Currency: The South African Rand is the currency of South Africa.

Leadership: President Jacob Zuma

Security Concerns: Despite being one of the leading developed countries in Africa, the crime in South Africa is high. Street crime, xenophobic violence, theft, are major concerns.  Be cautious when visiting townships and the urban areas.

Time Zone: UTC+02:00

Country Phone Code: 27

Emergency Number(s): 10111 (police), 10177 (fire and medical); 112 from cellular

Electricity: 220/230 volts with a Type M Plug (South African)